In the remote Himalayan country of Nepal are difficult to find fungus called Yarchagumba is used to treat erectile dysfunction in males. The fungus is not commercially organised and the Nepalese government is not involved in the collection of it. However a large amount of Yarchagumba is exported each year to China and India. This herbal concoction is widely thought of as a sexual dysfunction cure and it is to be found in recipes and exquisite food all over the world. It has potential to be a multi million pound business.

The Yarchagumba grows in the mountains the west part of Nepal. Until recently the health officials of Nepal banned the the medicine but now just place a tax of about 180 pounds sterling per kilo. To buy the Yarchagumba you need about 1,400 pounds per kilo, so its not exactly cheap and the price has recently grown as the world learns about it.

In the late spring locals from the surrounding area climb up the mountains to find Yarchagumba. The rewards despite the dangers are great as the locals can earn nearly 25 pounds sterling a day, the equivalent of a normal one months salary. One area called Dolpa collects the most Yarchagumba, in fact nearly half of all the yearly supply of Yarchagumba.

Yarchagumba gis only found above 11,000ft in this Himalayan region and it fast becoming the most famous medicinal plants of Nepal. In the last two years, the sale of Yarchagumba has boomed along with its price and it is considered to be good for many ailments as well as being a cure for erectile dysfunction.

Its medical name is cordyceps sinesis and the Nepalese name means summer plant and winter insect. It is formed by a set of bizarre coincidences as before the rains begin, tiny spores from the cordyceps mushroom sometimes fall on the heads of acaterpillar that burrows underground. When this happens the fungus grows out through the caterpillars head and consumes all of it. The remaining fungus is Yarchagumba.

Yarchagumba may finish up in rich countries where just the fungal caterpillars sell for as much as $50 dollars each. The Nepalese governments could generate much needed funds for the country by organising and taxing the export of this fungus, however the region where it is found is so remote and is a hotbed of Nepalese Maoists who will not give up the control of Yarchagumba.